


make you never wanna leave

by finalizer



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 12:30:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5540045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finalizer/pseuds/finalizer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And then there was the split second when Finn's breath was knocked out of his lungs, leaving him feeling like he’d missed a step on a staircase and was falling, because, <i>no</i>, screw coffee — the dark haired guy sitting by the window seat was a far, <i>far</i> more interesting concept.</p><p>Or, the coffeeshop AU that no one asked for but got anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	make you never wanna leave

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [a dear friend](https://twitter.com/agentromanov), also _inside llewyn davis_ , but mostly the friend, because she brought it up

For the most part of his college experience, Finn had been entirely certain that nothing surpassed the feeling of escaping the harsh winter cold and stepping inside a café, because it was warm, also smelled like caffeine incarnate. Caffeine was a must, duh.

And then there was the split second when his breath was knocked out of his lungs, leaving him with the feeling like he’d missed a step on a staircase and was falling, because, _no,_ screw coffee _—_  the dark haired guy sitting by the window seat was a far, _far_ more interesting concept.

Finn took a few steps forward (stumbled, though he wouldn’t admit to that, no) and got in line to the counter. It was a strange thing, to suddenly be appreciative of long lines in campus cafés, but the waiting period gave Finn the opportunity to _stare_ , so he wasn’t complaining. He knew his usual order inside and out, and had no need to glance at the menu, leaving him free to watch window seat guy swirl his steaming tea like it was a goddamn blockbuster movie. 

It was a glorious few seconds, up until the moment Finn was hit with the realization that he was being extraordinarily pathetic and he tore his gaze away quick enough to snap his own neck. Some hot guy, no matter how damn hot, was not reason enough to be creepy. No matter how _fucking_ attractive  _—_

Finn forced himself to stare at the person in line in front of him, at the back of the man's shiny, bald head. How splendid a replacement for window seat guy, with his dark hair all over the place, and _—_   _no_. Finn decided not to look around again, for fear of spontaneously combusting, or worse yet, catching the guy’s attention.

But there came a certain dreariness with watching one customer after another make their order, pass some cash, pick up a paper cup, and so on and so on, and Finn’s resolve gradually crumbled, eventually dragging him right back to where he started, namely doing some inappropriate staring at the hot guy. Except, as luck would have it, hot guy was looking right back at him this time around.

At first, Finn’s mind was chock full of _abort mission_ scenarios, full on panic, he’d been compromised, gotta skedaddle. Then, two things registered: one, window seat guy had mesmerizing eyes _—_  soft and gentle _—_  and Finn thought that if a human could melt, he would. And two, the way he was being stared had Finn overwhelmed with self-consciousness, suddenly worried he had something on his face, or was wearing his jacket backwards, because hot guy’s gaze was intense enough to be on par with his own borderline obsessive staring.

It was like looking in a mirror. _Huh, almost as though the guy shared the sentiment —_

"Mister?"

Finn took a moment to float back to earth, then another to remember that talking was a thing that people did, and then yet another to realize the barista was addressing him in particular.

"Are you gonna order anything?"

He flinched in embarrassment and whirled around to the counter, all wide smile and sparkling eyes, turning the charm up to compensate for the weird ass trance he’d been in. _Love at first sight_ , his brain supplied. _Fuck you_ , he told his brain.

"Medium black," he replied, "two sugars."

With a slow nod, the barista turned on her heel to fetch his order, and Finn caught himself wondering exactly how long she’d been waiting for him to snap out of it –- her, and the customers behind him in line. The verdict: he must have been pathetically obvious in his pining, drawing the attention of not only the crowd behind him, but window seat guy’s as well. He stared straight ahead, at the far wall, pointedly refusing to meet anyone’s eyes in fear of actually, literally blushing.

Finn decided that the moment he paid for his coffee, he would proceed to sink into the ground and never show his face in the same part of town again.

His order arrived, piping hot, lid in place, typical as ever. Pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, he brought it around and started to pull out a few bills, only to be stopped short. A hand came out of nowhere and placed itself over his, effectively cutting off the flow of cash.

Finn started, and traced his gaze from the mystery hand right back up to its owner’s face, and he might have let out an undignified squawk, because window seat guy was no more than a foot away, also _touching him_.

"Don’t worry," the guy said to Finn (whose eyes were probably bulging out of his skull) then turned to the barista, warm eyes and sweet smile and all, and added, "it’s on me."

Tossing a few dollars onto the counter, _keep the change_ implied, he fixed Finn with a look _—_   _did he wink? that was a wink, also that smirk, oh god, it was flirtatious —_  and turned to head back to his seat by the window. There were two chairs at the table, hot guy’s cup steaming on one end, the other practically calling Finn’s name.

And so, rather than run the fuck away, or melt into the void like he'd intended, Finn made the hard call and came to the conclusion he might as well thank the guy for buying him his coffee before fading away in shame. Also, he wanted an explanation. And to know the guy’s name. And to kiss him, maybe.

The guy was already seated by the time Finn sank into the opposite chair with his coffee in hand, stiff and awkward, heartbeat most likely audible all the way across the street (across the continent, if one listened closely), and was watching Finn with discernible interest.

"Um, thanks," Finn began rather eloquently. "You didn’t have to do that."

"Nah, I wanted to."

Finn realized, in that moment, that he would have no regrets skipping all his classes for the rest of the day, maybe the rest of the week, if it meant listening to this guy talk instead. Finn had heard ten words out of his mouth at most, and was already whipped enough to want to listen to the soft-spoken voice forever, until the end of time. He couldn't tell if these were the beginnings of an unhealthy obsession, or something quite different, rationalizable by the mystical concept of a requited crush.

But there remained the nagging question at the back of his mind, and he blurted it out before he could stop himself. "Why?"

Hot guy flushed, almost imperceptibly, something like a rush of embarrassment sweeping over his features, and then it was gone _—_  back to kind-eyed cool guy. Like a frat boy who volunteered at animal shelters on weekends.

"Hoped it’d give me a shot at getting you to sit down with me."

A beat passed, and Finn smiled, because it was hard not to when faced with a near literal ray of sunshine; then another second ticker, and Finn finally processed what the guy had said _—_   _implied_ _—_  that he was into him, and Finn suddenly wished he had the neighborhood fireworks dealer on speed dial. He wanted to call Rey and tell her to pop open the champagne. Also, he was fairly certain he was hallucinating the whole exchange. 

The guy cleared his throat, just about nervously, breaking the sudden silence. "I’m Poe. Poe Dameron."

"Finn."

Poe Dameron smiled and for a moment, Finn could care less about his coffee growing cold.

 


End file.
